Stay
by Crazy8ball
Summary: In one world Jack lost his Ianto and in the other Ianto lost his Jack and neither of them is coping as well as they'd like to pretend... what happens when the two worlds converge? Will they stay together or go back to their own worlds?


_A/N: (Bangs head against desk for forgetting the A/N... ) Song lyrics are Stay by Shakespear's Sister_

"Jack… are you-"

"Jack… are you-"

"I swear to god Gwen, if you ask me if I'm okay again I will rip your tongue out and shove it back down your throat!" Jack barked, cutting her off, "Get the hell out of my office!"

Gwen walked to the door, pausing in the doorway to turn and look back at her friend, her Captain, "You know Jack, you're not the only one who misses him."

Jack threw his glass, narrowly missing his 2ic and splattering the good whiskey on the wall.

Sobs wracked the immortal's body as Jack could have sworn he heard Ianto tutting him for spilling his drink.

"That was out of order Jack."

Jack looked up to see Owen standing in the doorway, "Fuck off Owen."

_If this world is wearing thin  
And you're thinking of escape  
I'll go anywhere with you  
Just wrap me up in chains I'll do anything it takes  
But if you try to go alone  
Don't think I'll understand_

On Sol 3.3 Ianto Jones sat in his Captain's chair nursing a rather expensive glass of whiskey when Gwen walked in to the office, "Ianto? How are you?"

Ianto took another sip of his drink, "As well as can be expected. You?"

"Coping… we need to talk about hiring someone new…"

A small smile crept across Ianto's face, "We'll talk about it tomorrow Gwen…" he looked down at his watch, "Go home to your daughter."

"When are you coming over? She misses her Uncle Yan you know…"

Ianto looked back at the watch, two minutes.

_Stay with me…_

Jack climbed down the manhole to his quarters, unbuttoning his waistcoat and removing the dark blue shirt underneath, slipping the grey braces off his shoulders so they hung from his hips.

Lying back on his bed he closed his eyes, his thoughts drifting to Ianto… his dear sweet Ianto lost in the line of duty… pushing Gwen out of the way of a stray bullet.

"I'll find you again Jack. Somehow… just to prove there's more then the darkness." Ianto had promised moments before taking his last breath leaving a broken Jack in his wake.

_In the silence of your room  
In the darkness of your dreams In the darkness of your schemes  
You must only think of me There among the souvenirs  
There can be no in between And the useless memories  
When your pride is on the floor  
I'll make you beg for more_

Ianto climbed down the ladder to what had been Jack's quarters with a heavy heart, the convergence between worlds had happened twice since Jack's death… Ianto couldn't help but smile a little at how strangely permanent that sounded. His immortal Captain 'fixed', dying for the last time to save the whole world…

And Jack had promised he'd find him again and Ianto believed him, because that's what Jack did… he found his way back.

_Stay with me_

Jack's eyes snapped open as he felt the reality around him shift and the first thing he saw was an all too familiar figure leaning against the ladder, regaining his breath he sat up and smiled broadly, "Ianto."

Ianto turned around, his smile firmly in place, "Jack."

Ianto crossed the gap between them faster then he'd intended, swooping down and capturing Jack's lips in a passionate kiss.

"Oh god I've missed you." Jack muttered as he helped Ianto out of his suit, "Missed everything."

"Stay with me Jack." Ianto whispered, using Jack's braces to tie him to the bed, "Stay with me forever…" he leant down and as he kissed the hollow of Jack's neck he whispered, "Stay and we can fix you, you'll have a normal life…"

"Oh yes!" Jack cried, meaning it with every fiber of his being because he wanted so desperately to stay, fuck the consequences. And he would, for as long as he could.

_You'd better hope and pray  
That you make it safe That you'll be safe  
Back to your own world In your own world  
You'd better hope and pray  
That you wake one day That you're gonna awake  
In your own world Back in your own world  
'Cause when you sleep at night  
They don't hear your cries  
In your own world  
Only time will tell  
If you can break the spell  
Back in your own world_

Gwen, Toshiko and Owen stood around the bed looking at the still form of the Captain, Tosh's dark eyes reading over the note once more, _I'm sorry I can't stay. I've found a way back to Ianto… I love you all, be careful and stay safe._

_Jack._


End file.
